The Royal Visit
by andgirl12
Summary: Arilena is a 17 year old girl who has to stay with the Royal Family with her parent's are taking a second honey moon to help ignite the old flame. Mean while Arilena has to deal with the country's biggest bachelor, Prince Max. The whole nation is in a rut of depression. Let's see how this feisty girl brings new energy and life to the rather old and dreary county and palace.
1. The Drop Off

**Halo universe, not dead. So this story is NOT a fanfiction but I really love it and thought it was worth it to post on here. Anyways, if you don't mind reading an original, go on ahead.**

"It will only be a year," they said. "You'll be fine," they said. Ha! Fine my foot. I'm sure most girls or mostly anybody would be jumping for joy if they got to spend a whole 365 days in the Palace with the Royal Family. But I am not most people.

I smooth out my dress one more time before dragging my body out of the car. It's a white skater skirt with light blue lace. Simple. Paired with my favorite black combat boots. Badass. I often thought these two traits went well together.

The place is breath-taking but I hold in a gasp. My mother and father walk up to greet the King and Queen. The ladies kissing each other's cheeks and the men exchanging hearty hugs. They were all old friends. My father practically grew up with the King before he became the King and my mother met the Queen shortly after my parents had gotten married.

I stood at a distance, awkwardly fidgeting with my hands. I lift my gaze to the young man beside the Royal couple. The Prince. Gag. True he's handsome. Striking jaw line, short dirty blonde hair and dark eyes-but even that couldn't hide his awful personality. I don't keep up with the tabloids but it seems every week there is a new story about him and some sort of scandal. "The Prince caught with the King of France's daughter…again!"

Suddenly, I am snapped out of my inner monologue at the mention of my name. "Ah, A-Ar," I can tell he is struggling with my name. Most people do.

"Arilena." I interject. His cheeks tinge the slightest bit of pink at his inability to pronounce my name.

"Yes. How wonderful it is to finally meet you. Your father talks of you endlessly." I smile at the compliment, though not a genuine one. He extends his hand to me and I shake it firmly.

Next the Queen walks up to me, giving me a soft hug before pulling back and smiling. "I'm so glad you will be staying with us." Her voice is a lot lighter than I would have expected. She isn't a fragile woman so her tone catches me off guard. I give another courteous smile.

Suddenly my bags appear, a servant I hadn't even noticed places them beside me. I thank him and he nods, gripping the luggage in his hands.

"Oh I can take that." I say to him, but the older man only shakes his head.

"Really. It's fine. Plus, I don't know if I can trust you with all my precious cargo." I tease. He laughs, finally giving in and placing the bags back on the ground next to me.

I look up to find the scandal king walking towards me as I fight the urge to grimace and gag. I raise my hand to shake his, but instead he takes mine in his and places a gentle kiss on the top. Ugh. This type of greeting hasn't been used since the middle ages. He looks up at me, trying to catch my eye, but I refuse. Instantly, an image from an old Disney Movie pops into my head. Tangled and he is Flynn Rider, trying out his new "smolder." I'm all for Disney but not in real life.

"Max." He states, almost proud, as if his name is the most beautiful and exotic of them all. More gags. I swear, the arrogance radiating off this kid is almost too much to handle for more than a five minutes.

"Charmed." I smile sweetly at him, only playing the part of the nice, well behaved daughter that we all know I'm not. I can almost feel the giggles vibrating off of our mothers at the spectacle. _Can someone make me a special gag button? Every time I press it, it gags for me. That would be the most useful tool right now._

I bid my mother and father farewell, grabbing my luggage and following the Royalty up the palace steps and into some kind of grand hall.

The whole place is exquisite and so ridiculously ornate, my eyes can't help but gobble up every inch of it. There are rows of endless columns and arches, expertly crafted, accompanied by an unsurprising abundance of corridors.

If you turn down left, there is a huge parlor, I'm guessing it's just used for hanging out, reading, though I have never been in a parlor. To the right is a pair of huge double doors that swings open due to the bustling of workers, leading into a dining room. To the very north of the room is a stair case that even Cinderella couldn't walk down fast enough.

Suddenly, a loud ringing interrupts my daze. I jump a little, but everyone else seems to be perfectly accustomed to the sound. A grandfather clock, placed right outside the parlor is chiming 4 o'clock. Almost dinner.

"You'll get used to it." Max reassures me, though he doesn't have the best credibility.

The King clears his throat before speaking. "Max, why don't you show Arilena where she will be staying. Then meet me in my office-right after." He throws his son a pointed look and I laugh in my head. As if I would let him do anything to me.

 **Opinions? Constructive criticism? Also, first impressions. What do we think about Max? All player or hidden gem? And, of course Arilena. I should be updating regularly but we all know school just totally messes with our fanfic schedules. How dare they! Anyway, don't forget to review for the next chapter.**


	2. The Maids

**Ash: Totally get what you're saying. Hope this chapter helps. And thanks** **J**

 **heywassuphello: Thanks! Glad you enjoyed it. Currently jamming out to Adele's new song. No tears on the keyboard Ana, no tears. Btw sorry this is short, thought it was better than nothing.**

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He says something to me, pointing at the staircase, but I'm too in awe to hear him. I had always lived in a small, three bedrooms, one story house. Shared among five people. This is more than just luxury.

We start walking up the stairs, gripping my luggage in my hand, Max standing just a bit too close for comfort. He leads me down a long corridor of rooms, picking the one at the end of the hall. I enter and find three girls standing there, all in maid's uniforms. _Really? Stick with what you got I guess._

Telling myself I'll introduce myself properly later, I give them all a smile and plop my bag by the biggest bed I have ever seen. It takes up most of the room so I'm guessing it's a queen or king, accompanied by down pillows and comforter. Holy craz.

I turn around to see Max waiting expectantly in the doorway. I stomp over to him. "What?" I snap. He seems taken aback by my actions.

"What happened to the lovely girl I met outside?" He questions, scrunching his dark eyebrows together.

"She's more of a display only deal. Now get." I shoo him away with a simple wave of my hand. Stunned, he turns on his heels and strides down to who knows where. Probably to find a nice kitchen maid. I smirk to myself at the joke.

I face the girls once again, all gob smacked by my actions. _Whoops._

They all curtsy once they gain they're composure. It's funny really, how uniform they can be when they all look so different. The girl on the very left is petite with golden blonde hair and the bluest of blue for eyes. The girl in the middle is thicker. More meat on the bones. She reminds me of myself. She's not overweight, she's actually quite attractive. With long brown hair and the perfect tan. The girl next to her looks to be no more than fourteen.

I frown, knowing how it feels to have your childhood ripped away from you so early. She too has brown hair, but it's a little longer than shoulder length, like mine. She has a medium frame and she looks to be wearing mascara or some sort of cosmetics. Of course you couldn't really tell unless you looked closely enough. As opposed to me who only ever wears lipstick at the most. And that's if my mother or friends push me to. I've never understood the need for makeup. If we could accept boys for how they looked naturally, why couldn't they accept us? Though I guess if it makes her feel pretty, what's the harm?

"I'm Arilena." I announce, trying to get the ball rolling.

"Karen." The shy blonde whispers. I laugh at myself for instantly thinking of one of my favorite actors, Karen Gillan.

"Emma." The plumper of the three proclaims. I smile at her confidence.

"Astrid." The little girl says, they all fall into another curtsy.

"Oh there's no need for that. I'm not royalty. Thank god." They all laugh and I feel more comfortable. Making others laugh has always been my thing. That and singing and writing.

They nod before scurrying over to the closet. I move to follow them as a mirror catches my eye. A bit tan, with brown hair and red and blonde highlights that catch the light wonderfully. I'm on the shorter size for 17, but good things come in small packages. I could always invest in heels if I ever became that desperate. _Not bad. Let's just hope it's enough to get you through another 364 days. Everybody talks to themselves right? Nope. It's probably just you. Sigh. Oh well._

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 **Hope you enjoyed this shorter chapter. Does anyone else listen to music when they write? I dunno. Anyways, I shall (yes I just used the word "shall") be updating soon hopefully. You know what sucks, trying to convince yourself you don't like someone when you obviously do. Bleh. Feelings. Bleh.**


	3. Maybe Just a Little More Subtle

**heywassuphelloo: Yeah, not fun but, meh. Also, The Selection Series was sort of my inspiration for this so if you ever need to fangirl with someone about it. Have you read The Heir? The end is a heartbreaker! I can't wait until The Crown comes out and the movie. Eee! The feels!**

 **Also, this chapter is dedicated to my good friend FiFi. I hope the otp tragedy of this story won't disappoint you.**

I glance back to the three girls and see them hauling out a dark blue dress. It's a bit longer than knee length and quite flowy, with a waist of glimmering beads. I guess it's what _these_ people would call simple. Back home in Jersey, this is a wedding dress, only to be bought and worn to the fanciest of occasions. Not for dinner.

Karen carries it over to me, nodding for me to get undressed.

"Um, don't I get any privacy?" I question, trying to squirm my way out of this situation. She only shakes her head, turning to Emma for help. She's obviously the leader of the trio.

"Oh please," Emma waves a hand at me, "it's nothing we haven't seen before."

Reluctantly, I unzip my dress, letting it fall to the floor and using my arms to cover myself. If there's something I'm not, it's body confident. Thank god I'm wearing a bra.

Emma proceeds to drape the fabric over my body, letting it fall around me. The sleeves are a bit off the shoulder, giving it a snow white sort of feel. I run my hands over it, smoothing out the edges. I move over to the mirror, facing it with my perfected "smile."

"Looks great guys. Thanks." But, of course when I think I'm done, the maids have something else in store for me.

"Oh, we're not done yet," Emma chirps.

"We're not?" I whine. What else could they possibly do to me?

Astrid bends down and begins to unzip my boots. My instinct is to kick her away, but I fight the urge, realizing that she's only trying to help. She slips something cool and soft over my feet. I almost stumble in them. I look down at my feet, Astrid looks adoringly at them, while I try to hold in a scream.

High heels?!

"Um, where does it say that you guys have the right to kill my feet?" I joke. They all laugh and I'm suddenly jealous of their small heeled clogs. Some people get all the luck.

"You'll get used to them. And who knows, maybe you'll love them," Emma reassures.

"Yeah, if I ever get into Barbie feet," I grumble, starting to regret agreeing to come here. Even though back home wasn't necessarily safe, I could at least enjoy myself more than I am right now.

About an hour later, the girls are finally finished with me. I feel as though someone has thrown 12 layers of dense, compact cake onto my face. In Jersey, most people are poor and can't afford makeup. Maybe some blush or lipstick, if you're lucky, but that's about it. If only Grace could see me now. I think she'd have a heart attack. I laugh at the thought of Grace here. She would stick out almost as much as me. Grace and her family were a lot richer than mine are, but that doesn't stop us from being non-biological sisters. Ever since 4th grade.

I strut over to the mirror, a shocked look over taking my face. "Woah." I whisper. My hair is woven into intricate braids and ringlets, accompanied by tiny gems and jewels. They left some wisps of hair in the front to frame my face.

My makeup is anything but subtle. A girly, pink shade is glossed over my lips. Streaks of amber, gold and silver elegantly color my eyelids, while dramatic black liner fans out, creating a winged look.

"What are you guys doing working here? You should have your own salon. You should have your own beauty line!"

They chuckle in return, Astrid fixing a ringlet. "I take it you like it," she questions.

"I…It's beautiful, but…it's not me." A look of disappointment takes their face.

"Don't get me wrong, you guys made me look beautiful. More beautiful than I ever thought I could be. But, I'm just not…this," I gesture to my body.

"Maybe next time we could try something a little more subtle?" I try.

"We'll see what we can do," Karen promises.

"What now?" I question.

"Now, you go to dinner and wow everyone there," Emma squeezes my arm before opening the door. A tall, handsome guard is waiting for me. Probably to lead me down to the dining room, seeing as I'd get terribly lost without someone. His eyes seem to widen at the sight of me.

"Take a picture," I scoff. This seems to remind him of his duty, because his eye are no longer saucers as he offers me his arm.

"So, what's your name?"

"Carl," He answers.

 **Hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. Any thoughts so far?**

 **-AND**


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